Album Review: Lazaretto – Jack White
10 years ago Liv Carter Comments Off on Album Review: Lazaretto – Jack White
Lazaretto – Jack White (Third Man/Columbia, 2014)
Jack White took his time to create Lazaretto, his second solo studio album, amid working on projects with other artists on his own Third Man label. Often accused of too much eccentricity, White brings his psychedelic energy to Lazaretto, as he states on the title track “even God herself has fewer plans than me.” The album is Blunderbuss: Extreme Edition, with everything that made that record interesting intensified and developed further.
Sounds and vibes from every music genre find their way into the many nooks and crannies. Taking inspiration from Blind Willie McTell ‘Three Women Blues,’ the opening track is a honky-tonk blues-rock stomp, ‘Temporary Ground’ brings out the country-folk balladeer, and ‘Just One Drink’ mixes in some British punk elements.
White can crush with unhinged guitar work, most notably on instrumental ‘High Ball Stepper,’ and stab with philosophical and pondering lyrics, as in closer ‘Want and Able’:
‘Being able is to freedom what wanting is to cruel
It’s hard to tell it seems, which one of them’s the fool
Is freedom a gift, that we only give to the ones that say I love you?’
He is consistent in his inconsistency. In not making a cohesive album, he has somehow ended up with a collection where every song belongs. Depending on the mood, he bends and twists his voice to the style of each song. An arsenal of sonic flourishes adds decorative fringes without White ever letting the underlying song get away from him.
Lazaretto is challenging and demands repeated listens to fully appreciate its details and nuances. But the return on investment of your time is an imaginative, genre-widening album. Not many artists can get away with singing “my feet are burning like a Roman hypocaust.” Jack White can.
Key tracks: ‘Want and Able,’ ‘High Ball Stepper,’ ‘That Black Bat Licorice’
Liv Carter
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.
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